Monarch of Darkness, Arsene

Dragged to the pits like a chained dog, my muscles bulged as I cursed beneath my breath, feeling all my powers were being sealed.

Struggling, I snapped my gaze upwards, and the sigil of the black sun appeared between my brow, bleeding a demonic aura.

"Oh no! Kill—"

"Celestrial Slash!"

Catching sight of a silvery arc of sword intent cleaving through the chains around my body, cutting through them like hot butter, the air shuttered as Lilith materialized by my side.

"What are you thinking by going on the front lines alone?" she scolded, batting her long lashes at me. "We need to retreat. One man cannot fight off a Legion of Hell. This war could take hundreds of cycles, Arsene."

I frowned at her words but nodded. These chains had been a lesson. While I was sure I could have regained my mobility with my attunement, I wasn't sure if I could break them.

"Head to the Tower of Lucifer and help Freya clear it out. That tower is indestructible. It'll be a good base."

More annoyed than I was happy to escape with Lilith's help, I soared up to the skies and stared at the dark expression of Beleth."

"You'll pay for this." He said to me. "There is no way in hell you'll win this. Demons are born for war; we have the advantage in the long run and are immortal. You may have the ability to kill devils and demons for good, but your people don't. We'll keep sending out Demons and Devils till you break, Arsene."

"We have more Paragons."

Beleth chuckled. "The Hells might have changed with the Great Change, but we have relics that'll make the Chains of Hell you just experienced seem like child's play. You've no chance in hell."

Snorting, I shadowed step to my knight's side as she danced in a sea of blood and flames. Sweat oozed from her brow as she snatched a demon by the head, tearing it from the body as she cut through dozen of other demons with her sword arm. Behind her, the Sixth Battalion stood covered in blood as they backed her up, never breaking formation.

Dismissing my spear back into my soul, I folded my arms and frowned. There were only so many moves we had. This was going to be a battle of attrition. And I still had to worry about Iluthath. While I'm sure the other Lords in that land have been frightened by what happened with the Holy Spirit, they'll be sending ambassadors. Nevertheless, there will be others, like the Court of Nox, who will keep attacking.

Beleth seems more competent than I thought. Or perhaps it's only now that I am looking at him as a worthy foe. The man is competent. He knows how to play the game. This is going to take a long time. Is it even worth it? Then there is Zantar… If he joins, as Lilith had said, I fear things will only descend into further chaos.

Then there are the chances of other Kings of Hell showing up. The Hells demands my full attention.

"Lilith," I called to my wife as she danced like a reaper of death, cutting through demons like weeds, bathing her dress red. She looked at me. " Your authority in the Nines, what can you do with that."

"I can restrict the resurrection of devils and demons, but the other Eight Realms will just supply the Avenos with troops. I can close the realm gates and force them to take the river Styx to slow the supply, but you'll never be able to fully overrun Avenos in time."

My brow creased, and before I could answer, Victoria uttered her input as she appeared drenched in dragon blood. "We don't need to overrun Avenos. We just need a single territory. If we can take at least a few hundred Kilometers in a cycle, then we are good even if reinforcements arrive."

"Do that… I want Avenos. I know that ruling the Nines without a few chaos cycles will not happen. But getting a good footing in the Nines is the best we can do with our limited resources." I calmly responded. "Lilith. Seal the Infernal Gates and restrict devil and demon resurrection."

Flickering to my side, Lilith smiled at me. "It's gonna cost you, you know."

"When does it not."

"It's gonna cost you greatly, Sene."

"Woman, I gave you two kids. What more do you want?"

"All the kids. All of em'."

Pushing Lilith out of my mind, I looked on at the battle below. We were almost out of the tower, which was surprisingly large. But our main armies will remain on the bridge. It's somewhat safe there.

"Lilith, I need the Abyssal Children. All of them are to be here. And can anyone tell me who is running my base in the Eben Forest after it was destroyed?"

"..."

"What's with the silence? Surely it's not bad."

"It's Zanris." Said, Lilith.

"Oh fuck… " Shadow Stepping out of the Hells, my mind spiraled with unease that only grew as I stepped into a pool of blood-gathering pestilence.

"Hi, Master!" Shout Zan with a large smile as a dozen or so foreign soldiers stood huddled together. Carrying the noble crest of the Stag with two swords engraved behind the emblem. I paled, knowing instantly who that belonged to.

"Winterpool," I muttered; that very city was said to have been around the time when the Laws of Blood were being cultivated and perfected.

At its peak, it was said that Chaos Lords would make pilgrimages to that holy land to make offerings. It was often said that Winterpool was the birthplace of Chaos Lords.

"Zan—"

"Master became a chibi? Zan likes. Master is extra cute now. Can Zan get hugs?"

Fuck me!

"Zanris… please tell me this isn't the ambassadors of Winterpool."

"How'd you know? Bunch of bitches they are. They came wishing to—"

"Is that their blood on the ground?"

"Nope… I think that's the blood from the delegates of some other place. Zan doesn't remember."

"And have you harmed these people yet?"

"Not yet. Why?"

"Your fired."

"EH!!! You can't fire Zan! Zan is awesome!"

"Fired!" I snapped, turning to the guard's man huddled around a young-looking boy appearing barely older than twelve.

"..."

"Never mind, you can kill them. They actually sent a child to negotiate with this King? Cook em' alive and send a video to Winterpool."